Monday, January 31, 2005

Think "tiny medicine," and you probably think "Fantastic Voyage," the 1966 movie (and Isaac Asimov book) about a minuscule medical crew submarining through a patient's circulatory system. In fact, some nanomedicine experts foresee a day when invisibly small robots will cruise through the body looking for signs of disease -- albeit without the added attraction of a neoprene-clad Raquel Welch.

Just slightly farther over the horizon are nanomaterials like buckyballs for targeted drug delivery. There are some FDA trials going on right now, and here’s where you get into your Fantastic Voyage meets reality stuff. You can’t put Raquel Welch into a buckyball, so maybe some targeted anti-cancer medication will have to do.

I banned "Fantastic Voyage" references from staff- and correspondent-written Small Times stories more than a year ago, since the movie reference was overused, and the technology too distant. Maybe I should rethink the policy. A development reported in New Scientist isn't exactly Raquel Welch under your skin, but these nanoparticles do detect cold sores.